Former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, and other stakeholders have thrown their weight behind the Senate’s proposal to convert Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, from a university of technology to a conventional university.
The endorsement was made at a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND to receive stakeholders’ input on the proposed amendment to the university’s enabling law.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Muntari Dandutse (Katsina South), said the hearing was aimed at ensuring inclusive participation before the Senate concludes legislative action on the bill.
Speaking at the session, Yuguda argued that opposition to the conversion was unfair to Bauchi State and neighbouring communities, noting that many students are forced to seek admission elsewhere due to limited course offerings at ATBU.
According to him, the resistance fails to recognise the academic and developmental needs of the region.
“Anyone who is against making the university a conventional one is not being fair. I know what it took to ensure ATBU began offering medicine, and today we have over 100 medical doctors. Now some people say it should not be a conventional university? That is not reasonable,” Yuguda said.
He added that as an economist and accountant, it was only logical to advocate for the introduction of economics and other programmes not currently available at the institution, stressing that many science, arts and social science courses are needed.
However, the Bauchi State Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Haruna Angulu, opposed the proposal, citing the union’s official position paper.
“At a time when the world is advancing technologically, the focus should be on increased funding to strengthen the existing specialised university of technology, not converting it to a conventional university,” Angulu said.
He further noted that ATBU remains the only university of technology in the North-East geopolitical zone.
Earlier, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in his keynote address, said lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure that laws affecting national institutions are thoroughly scrutinised and enriched by expert contributions.
While acknowledging ATBU’s role as a centre of excellence in science, technology, research and innovation, Akpabio observed that the university has outgrown certain provisions of its original enabling Act.
“Like many public institutions, ATBU has evolved beyond the framework envisaged at its establishment. I urge all stakeholders—academics, administrators, students, civil society and development partners—to engage constructively in this process,” he said.
In his opening remarks, Senator Dandutse explained that the proposed amendment is intended to modernise the university’s governance structure, clarify the roles of principal officers and expand academic offerings to include programmes in the arts, social sciences and humanities.
He noted that the proposal has continued to generate robust debate among academics, policymakers, students and industry stakeholders.
